A business's phone numbers take calls as well as texts. Every call — answered, missed or a voicemail — lands in the contact's conversation and Activity history, and in the business's call log. Where incoming calls ring is set per number: see Where calls go.
Making a call
Open a contact and press Call, or type any number on the dial pad (below). You choose how:
- Call in the browser. The call goes through your computer's microphone and speakers. The first time, your browser asks to use the microphone — choose Allow (if you blocked it, allow it again from the camera / microphone icon in the address bar). Each team member gets their own browser-calling login; it renews itself.
- Call me first. We ring your own phone first (the mobile number on the Team page). When you answer, we ring the contact and connect you. Useful when you're out, or your computer has no headset.
The contact sees the business's number: your own number if one is assigned to you (Settings → Phone & texting → where a number's calls go → "Assigned to"), otherwise the main one, unless you pick another.
What can't be called:
- 911 and other emergency numbers are never placed from the business app. Call them from a regular phone. A notice says so on the dial pad.
- Other countries are switched off. Only the agency can switch them on (it blocks toll fraud).
- Premium-rate numbers (900 / 976).
- A contact set to do not call.
The monthly calling limit: the agency can set a limit of outgoing call minutes a month for a business. When it's used up, outgoing calls stop until the agency raises it or the month ends. Incoming calls always ring through.
The phone in the app
A Phone button sits in the corner of the business app (a sheet at the bottom on a phone). It's always there, even before calling is set up:
- Dial pad: type or paste a number. Contacts with that number (their main phone or any other phone on them) or that name show as you type — pick one, or carry on with the number. Then press Call, or Text to open the conversation for that number. If the business has several numbers, choose which one to call from.
- A number you don't have yet becomes a contact with just the number (no name, so it shows as the number; source Dialed or Texted). Call or text it again and it's the same contact — same phone = same contact, whatever the business's duplicate rule. If you only see the contacts assigned to you, the new contact is yours.
- Not set up yet? The dial pad says what's missing instead of hiding:
- "This business has no phone number yet — set one up in Settings → Phone & texting." Owners and managers get a Set up a number button; everyone else is asked to check with their owner or admin.
- "Calling isn't connected yet. Your agency is setting it up."
- "You don't have permission to make calls." (the person's Can't make calls switch on the Team page).
- The usage paused words, when the agency's usage balance has run out.
- During a call: a timer, Mute, Hold, the Keypad (for "press 1" menus) and Hang up.
- During a call: a timer, Mute, Hold, the Keypad (for "press 1" menus) and Hang up.
- Calls ringing you in the app: when a number's call flow rings you "in the app", you see Incoming call from … with Accept and Decline, and hear a ring. If your browser blocks sounds until you've clicked on the page, the call still shows — it just doesn't ring out loud. Decline sends the call on to the next person, or to voicemail. Keep the business app open in a tab to get these calls.
The call log
Every call, newest first: to or from the business, answered or missed, voicemails, how long it lasted and who answered. Filter by direction, outcome or number.
Open a call to see:
- who it rang (and how: browser or phone) and who answered;
- the voicemail and its transcript (voicemails are always transcribed);
- the recording and the call transcript, when the number records or transcribes calls;
- a note and an outcome (Interested, Booked a job, Needs a follow-up, Left a message, Not interested, Wrong number, Spam, Other).
People with "Only their own conversations" see only calls with their own contacts and the calls they made or answered. "Can't listen to call recordings" hides the recordings but keeps the log and voicemail transcripts.
Missed calls
A call is missed when nobody answered: it rang out, the line was busy, it didn't connect, or the caller hung up before anyone picked up. A call that went to voicemail counts as missed and as a voicemail.
- Your bell tells you about a missed call, or a new voicemail (with the transcript). Who's told, and by email or phone, follows My notifications.
- Automations can start on Missed call, Call completed (answered; you can set a shortest / longest length and in or out) and Voicemail left. A condition can check "the call was answered" or "we've spoken since" (an answered call after it).
Missed-call text-back (a built-in automation template): when a call isn't answered, it waits a minute and, if nobody has called them back, texts "Sorry we missed your call — how can we help?".
- Someone who called the business may get this reply (it isn't marketing). STOP and the opt-out list always win.
- It goes out straight away even at night, because it answers their own call, unless the business turns that off in Settings → Phone & texting. Other automated texts wait for texting hours.
Costs
Call minutes (the caller's leg and each phone we ring), call recording, and call / voicemail transcription are billed to the agency at the rates in Admin → Pricing, once per call leg. A voicemail isn't charged as a call recording; its transcription is.
The phone app
The phone app has the same dial pad: the keypad button at the top of Inbox, Contacts, Today and Calls (and More → Keypad). See The phone app.
Connected apps and the API
Connected apps can read the call log with list_calls and get_call (outcome, transcripts, notes). They can't place calls or play recordings. Through the API, GET …/dialer says whether calling and texting are set up (and why not), and POST …/calls with a number logs the call to that number's contact (or a new contact with just the number).